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A critical humidity threshold for monsoon transitions

  • Monsoon systems around the world are governed by the so-called moisture-advection feedback. Here we show that, in a minimal conceptual model, this feedback implies a critical threshold with respect to the atmospheric specific humidity q(o) over the ocean adjacent to the monsoon region. If q(o) falls short of this critical value q(o)(c), monsoon rainfall over land cannot be sustained. Such a case could occur if evaporation from the ocean was reduced, e.g. due to low sea surface temperatures. Within the restrictions of the conceptual model, we estimate q(o)(c) from present-day reanalysis data for four major monsoon systems, and demonstrate how this concept can help understand abrupt variations in monsoon strength on orbital timescales as found in proxy records.

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Metadaten
Author details:Jacob ScheweORCiD, Anders LevermannORCiDGND, Hai Cheng
DOI:https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-535-2012
ISSN:1814-9324
Title of parent work (English):Climate of the past : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union
Publisher:Copernicus
Place of publishing:Göttingen
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Year of first publication:2012
Publication year:2012
Release date:2017/03/26
Volume:8
Issue:2
Number of pages:10
First page:535
Last Page:544
Funding institution:Heinrich Boll Foundation; German National Academic Foundation; BMBF PROGRESS [03IS2191B]
Organizational units:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Geowissenschaften
Peer review:Referiert
Publishing method:Open Access
Institution name at the time of the publication:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Erd- und Umweltwissenschaften
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